Telling stories about a remarkable pet usually leads to listening. One after another, folks in the audience will respond with details about exceptional animals they've known.
When readers had devoured long-time library director Vicki Myron's 2008 bestselling book, Dewey, The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, many told her about their own fantastic felines. Soon the author will present another book, this time mainly about cats who have loved some of her readers. Coming in October, Dewey's Nine Lives, The Legacy of the Small-Town Library Cat Who Inspired Millions (again written with Bret Witter, 2010, Dutton, 306 pages), tells nine true stories of “the special bond between cats and their people”.
In the late 1980s, Dewey (full name Dewey Readmore Books) arrived as a semi-frozen kitten shoved through the night-drop slot into a book-return box at a public library in Spencer, Iowa. Once inside, he recuperated and lived there for 19 years as the library's “social director and official greeter”. A friend, even a confidante, to visitors, he became the place's biggest attraction.
“After the first Dewey book, I had no intention to write again,” Myron said. “But as I traveled and met thousands of fans of Dewey, I began to realize there was more to tell…. I was touched by the heartfelt stories that people told me about their own cats.
“This is part of Dewey's legacy, of course: the opportunity to show the world that those kinds of wonderful relationships are happening everywhere, all the time, and that it's okay – in fact, it's perfectly normal – for a cat to be your very best friend.”
Despite constant references to Dewey and what the author learned from “working” with him, the new tales focus on other American cats. Appropriately, they have unusual names, like Mr Pumpkin Pants, Spooky, Christmas Cat, Cookie, Marshmallow and Church Cat, because they're no run-of-the-mill critters.
Tragedies and dilemmas that affect humans or cats, everything from medical problems and wildlife attacks to disillusionment and divorce, fill these pages. But the cats and their humans persevere by leaning on each other at times of need.
“This is not The Cat Whisperer or a guide to kitten care,” Myron says. “It's a collection of stories about the way real cats and real people live.
“There are thousands of stories. There are millions of cats that could, if given the chance, change a life. They are out there, living with the people featured in this book and millions of others like them. They are also out there in much worse circumstances: in rescue shelters, in feral cat colonies, or fighting for survival alone on the frozen streets, waiting for their chance.”
The author enjoys pausing to share important insight. “We don't love cats out of need. We don't love them as symbols or projections. We love them individually, in the complex manner of all human love, because cats are living creatures. They have personalities and quirks, good traits and flaws. Sometimes they fit us, and they make us laugh in our darkest moments. And then we love them. It's really as simple as that.”
Yes, these are love stories, amazing ones. “I have never been loved by another human being, Lynda wrote in her letter to me, not even by my daughter or my parents, the way I have been loved by my Cookie.”
From common threads swatted at by outstretched paws, the author weaves a core conclusion – that everyone can find a place and make a difference. “Love can arrive from anywhere,” she says. “One special animal can change your life. He can change a town. In a small way, he can change the world. And so can you.”
Anyone who has loved an animal – cat, dog or otherwise – recognizes and understands these sentiments and will enjoy Dewey's Nine Lives. Sometimes Myron dwells too much on human woes before the helpful cats arrive, but that's a minor quibble.
The first Dewey book sold nearly a million hardcover copies and led to three children's books (Dewey: There's a Cat in the Library; Dewey's Christmas in the Library; and Dewey the Cat). Now deceased, Dewey ranks among Iowa's most famous former residents.
Dewey's Nine Lives reinforces an eternal truth -- that few things can bring greater pleasure and deeper serenity than the love of a devoted pet. Maybe none!
Approval rating: 83 per cent.
For more information: www.DeweyReadMoreBooks.com
(July 6, 2010)
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